When we were in the village last month we met one of their daughters.  She was visiting along with her teenage son.  She was a delightful woman and told an interesting story.  She used to be a seamstress.  Made her living that way until her eyes started going bad.  So she approached her father and asked for some of his land.  He had bought a large track of land on the other side of the Sanaga River some years ago when they began selling it off.  The land wasn't considered overly desirable at first so you could get it for a song back then.  He was glad that one of his children was finally showing an interest in the land.  He bought it for them.

She moved out to the area and began her plantation. It was hard work but she was willing to do what she had to in order to succeed.  Then three years later she had her first harvest.  She cut down the very first plantains and took them across the river to her parents.  She left several other regimes of plantains in a pile in the middle of her plantation.  When she returned a couple days later, they were all gone.  She had no idea who the thief was, but went back to work and kept harvesting her first crop.  From time to time she would be missing another regime or two.  One day a neighbor lady told her she knew who was stealing from her.  Then the day came when she was in a town selling more plantains when she spotted two of her regimes.  She hired a moto taxi to take her back to her place and quickly returned.  When she confronted the young man who had her regimes, she had the proof.  She had left part of the plantains on the stock.  The two parts fit together perfectly.  He told her that he had bought it from another lady (the same one who reportedly had been stealing from her).  She let him keep her plantains.

Now it was time to confront the thief.  She went to the woman's house and told her outright that she had been stealing from her.  She reminded her that she had every right to involve the police and put this woman in prison.  But she informed her that she was not going to do that.  She was going to leave the situation in God's hands and let Him take care of everything for her.  The woman began trembling.  She didn't want God involved in the matter.  From that day onward there were no more thefts.  The word got out that God was her guardian.  Everyone respects her and her crops are safe.  It's a powerful testimony throughout the whole region.  We serve a faithful God.